Witness
for Peace prioritizes the safety and security of our staff and delegates at all
our program sites.Our staff in Mexico
stays informed about the situation and consults regularly with our security
contacts and constantly analyzes any potential impact of current events on
safety and security, including during delegations.

Witness
for Peace maintains a delegations program in Mexico
and communicates the following regarding security in Mexico. As you may know, Witness for Peace's Mexico
program works mainly in Oaxaca, Mexico City and the surrounding area (which
includes the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala), Chiapas, and occasionally, and
always with thorough investigation of the current situation in the region,
Veracruz as well.In this statement, we
address broader security concerns.Delegates traveling with WFP receive much more detailed information about
day to day safety and personal security in Mexico.

Travel in Mexico

The team continues to take every precaution
necessary when traveling, and monitors the situation closely.Throughout Mexico, there have been reports of
illegal roadblocks (or “blockades”), robberies and kidnappings of people
traveling by train, car, or bus, especially in the northern states.These occur most often late at night, on
isolated roads.When we travel on
delegations, we always take a first class bus during daylight hours on major
highways and toll roads (or “cuotas”) that are populated with many other
vehicles and various military check points.When taking private transport, we contract with trusted business
associates who have worked closely with us over the years and are familiar with
the security situation in Mexico.
Currently, we are assessing the security conditions for nighttime travel. At
this point we travel significant distances outside of major cities only during
daylight hours

Security
in Mexico City
and the Surrounding Area

Daily
life in Mexico City
has by and large not been affected by drug-war related violence. This violence
is largely confined to the northern border region, a thousand miles from the
capital city, but has also occurred in Acapulco,
Veracruz, and Cuernavaca. It is a serious situation, and we
treat it as such. There is an armed conflict over
control of smuggling and trade routes between drug cartels and also a sustained
conflict between those cartels and Mexican security forces. In addition, there
is strong evidence of o collusion between organized criminal groups and Mexican
security forces. However, this does not mean that it is not safe to
visit Mexico City or the vast majority of places
in Mexico.
We encourage everyone traveling to Mexico City to take all the appropriate
safety measures that you would take in any large city.The team has not perceived any threats to
security for travelers in Puebla
and Tlaxcala.

Security
in Oaxaca

A mentioned above, WFP work is based in Oaxaca City, where there is
relative calm, and daily lifeproceeds as normal. Many people, from all over
the world, visit Oaxaca
regularly as tourists and students. There are areas of serious conflict focused
in specific areas of the state of Oaxaca,
which we are careful to avoid.We
maintain close communication with several security contacts in the area, and
although we don't anticipate any threat to our team, we always monitor the
security situation here very closely through our security contacts.Like Mexico
City, it is important to take appropriate safety
measures that any traveler would take anywhere.

We
believe that it is more important now than ever for U.S.
citizens to visit Mexico.
U.S. citizens should come to Mexico
and meet face to face with Mexican people and organizations.- This kind of
direct encounter is the basis for real international understanding and
friendship, and remains the best antidote to counter sensational news reports,
stereotypes and misinformation about Mexico
and the United States.Furthermore, this exchange is vital to our
mission to support peace, justice, and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing U.S.
policies and corporate practices in Latin America.It can be very difficult, with all the
sensational headlines coming out of Mexico, to get a picture of what
daily life on the ground is like.It
continues as normal in most parts of Mexico. If there is a serious
change in the situation in Mexico
that compromises the safety of visitors, we will act upon this information
immediately.

If you would like more information or have any questions for us,
feel free to contact the Mexico
team:mexico@witnessforpeace.org